


MaeBea Baebeh

by eternalflamebabby



Category: Night In The Woods (Video Game)
Genre: Angus is good, Bea is tired, Diapers, Eventual Romance, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Gregg rulz ok, Hurt/Comfort, Mae is concerning, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-28
Updated: 2019-06-05
Packaged: 2019-06-17 12:17:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 40
Words: 15,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15461181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eternalflamebabby/pseuds/eternalflamebabby
Summary: Mae Borowski is trying to get things back to normal. As normal as they ever were, anyway. But what happens when Bea comes to discover a secret Mae has managed to keep from everyone until now?Note: Yes, there's diapers in this! Hence the tags! Don't complain about it having diapers just because you didn't bother to check the tags!





	1. Chapter 1

It had been three months since that strange night in the woods, Bea thought to herself. Not entirely sure why it crossed her mind or why she was keeping track, she pushed the thought to the back of her mind. There had been no further incidents after that fateful evening and she had more pressing matters to attend to in the here and now.

Mae had been helping out at The Ol' Pickaxe here and there. Though she mostly just tagged along with Bea, who did most of the actual work. Bea didn't mind. She'd missed having her friend around. And now she was back. Unreliable as ever. Yet somehow endearing.

Today Bea found herself working alone however. While not uncommon for Mae to skip out here and there, Bea noticed Mae had been missing more than usual. Several days in fact. 

With a mixture of frustration and concern she eventually found herself at the Borowski's doorstep. Unsure as to whether she would even find anyone home, she rang the doorbell.

After a few puffs from her cigarette and no answer she rang the doorbell again. It was late enough in the morning that both of Mae's parents would be out, Bea though to herself. And if Mae was out and about, there was no telling where she could be.

The thought that Mae might be fine and simply ditching her again made Bea somewhat cross. She reached out to knock on the door only to realize it was slightly ajar. Bea wondered if they had perhaps left in a hurry. Feeling bad at the possibility of something having happened to Mae or her family, Bae flicked her cigarette onto the street, slowly opened the door and stepped in.

"Mae? Mrs. Borowski?", she yelled into an empty living room.

"Hello?! Anyone home?!"

Nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary. After walking into the back and finding no one in the kitchen Bea decided it best not to encroach onto their home any further. She considered driving over to the church in the hopes of finding Mae's mother; and with her some answers perhaps. "I shouldn't be in here." she muttered under her breath, as she turned towards the door.

She reached for the doorknob, only to hear a loud *thump*. Bea stopped in her tracks. It had clearly come from upstairs. She stood there for a few seconds, not even realizing she was holding her breath. After a few ticks she let out a sigh and turned around, deciding to go further into the house. "I'm already a home invader, I guess." she dryly said to no one.

Not sure what to expect, Bea stood at the bottom of the stairs looking up. The lights were out and it was mostly dark. What little light and visibility was most likely coming from outside though a window. It looked gloomy. It was a gloomy day after all, she thought to herself. Glancing around the living room Bea noticed some light switches nearby.

A loud *ka-thunk* and an "Ow!" startled Bea from her pause. That was definitely Mae she heard!

"Mae?! Are you ok?!" Bea made her way upstairs.


	2. Chapter 2

Bea stopped to listen for a reply as she reached the second floor. But all she could hear was the ticking of the grandfather clock.

"Mae?!" she shouted up the flight of stairs to the attic, one foot on the steps.

"What the eff?!" A loud crash soon followed.

"Mae, It's me! I'm coming up!" A tinge of concern cracked in Bea's voice as she began to climb the flight up to the attic.

"I'm... ow! I'm ok!" Mae shouted. "Don't come up here!" Bea could hear the sound of things being moved around.

"Are you sick?" Bea asked as she reached the top, "You haven't been around lately.", she leaned just beside the entrance to Mae's room.

"No, I-I'm ok! I just..." Mae answered from insider her room, clearly flustered.

"Is something wrong?" Bea inquired, starting to get more concerned.

"Nothing's wrong! I just need to-" Mae said before being cut off by the sound of something, or someone, falling onto the floor with a loud *whomp*. "Ow-ow-ow-ow-ow..!"

"That's it, I'm coming in! I hope you're decent!", Bea barked, growing tired of the back and forth.

"No wait-"

Bea was at a lack of words at what she found as she stepped into the room. There was her friend in the middle of the room, surrounded by what appeared to be several bag of diapers. It took a moment to notice that the cat herself was wearing one.

"I told you not to come up here!" Mae shouted in a panic, shoving Bea out of the room hard enough that she would have easily flown down the stairs down to the second level had she not grabbed onto the rail.

Getting a grip and trying to process what just happened, Bea took a deep breath to try and compose herself. It did little to help. She was mad.

"Mae, you asshole!" she roared up the stairs, "You nearly killed me!"

"Go away!"

"No way! I'm coming up!" Bea sniped back. "And I WILL kick your ass if you try to push me down the stairs again!"


	3. Chapter 3

"Leave me alone!" Mae yelled, her voice wavering.

Bea stormed into the attic-turned-bedroom to find Mae in the corner huddled up, baseball bat in hand. "Now what the hell is that for?" asked Bea bemused by the ridiculousness of the scene she was now in.

"I said leave me alone!" Mae yelled again. "I told you to go away!"

"You and I both know you didn't mean to push me." Bea sighed, her anger beginning to melt away into concern once more. "I startled you and you panicked."

Mae sat there, looking away from Bea, still gripping her baseball bat. She looked as if she was going to cry.

"I'm sorry for barging in on you." Bea apologized. "I haven't heard from you in days. I was worried."

Mae turned towards Bea, her bright eyes teary. She opened her mouth briefly as if to say something, but stopped herself and looked away.

"And..." Bea continued as she stepped closer to Mae, "Well, knowing the things that went on all those months ago, I never know quite what to think."

Bea kicked one of the diaper bags out of the way as she made her way next to the bed. She noticed a tall cubby up in the corner of the room. Too high for someone of Mae's stature. She must have been trying to store the diaper bags up there without much success. It would certainly explain the chaos.

"Look, I don't care if you have some kind of medical issue here." Bea sighed trying to understand what was going on.

"No, it's not like that! I'm not sick!"

"Then what is it? And could you please let go of the baseball bat. We both know you don't really want to use it."

"It makes me feel safe..."

"I'm sure it does", Bea slowly reached for the bat, "But I don't want to risk you freaking out again and whacking me in the head with the thing."

"That's not what I meant..." Mae said angrily as she began sobbing, bat rattling onto the attic floor.


	4. Chapter 4

"What did you mean then?" Bea asked calmly as she sat herself next to the very upset cat.

"Augh!" Mae groaned trying to pull herself together, "Isn't it b-bad... *sob* e-enough... *sob* that you know w-what... *sob* what a total mess I am without... *sob* without seeing me like this?!"

"I'm sorry if I embarrassed you." Bea said looking down. "You're having a bad day. Week. Whatever. It happens."

"You don't get it!" Mae blurted, petulantly.

"Clearly. I do not." Bea responded dryly, looking directly at Mae.

Mae wanted to be angry, but she knew Bea had a point. Bea let the words sink in for a bit before attempting to continue.

"I am trying. I really am. I can leave if you want. Or you can try to explain what is going on with you."

Bea failing to get an explanation stood up, took a deep breath and asked, "Are you having dreams again?"

"No." Mae finally spoke up.

Bea looked down at Mae, relieved to hear that the nightmares had not returned. Noticing that her friend was still very much padded, she asked, "Those make you feel safe?"

"Yeah." Mae admitted. "It's hard to explain."

"No, I think I get it. Like a safety blanket. Right?"

"Kind of..?" Mae replied, tilting her head slightly to the side, "I guess..? Yeah."

"I suppose you should seek comfort in whatever way you can get it." Bea shrugged, "I'm not going to tell anyone. I'm not one to judge."

"Thanks Bea..." Mae replied after a few slow deep breaths, feeling much more at ease.

"Help me pick this stuff up." Bea said in an attempt to change focus, "You obviously can't reach up there very well. And you've been dropped on your head enough as it is."

"Shut up!" Mae cracked, focus changed.


	5. Chapter 5

"Thanks for helping me put that stuff away." Mae escorted Bea out the door. She was in much better spirits, thanks in no small part to Bea.

"Don't mention it.", Bea said, grateful to be able to light another cigarette. "The stuff we stuck under your bed should last you a while. If you need help getting stuff from the top, let me know."

"Will do! I'll, uh, try try to come in to work tomorrow."

"Just get better. That's your job right now." Bea cautioned taking a puff.

"Are you saying that as my boss?" Mae snidely inquired, eyes narrowed.

"As whatever it takes for you to get better." Bea answered with her typical dryness, as she stepped off the porch and onto the sidewalk.

"You got it boss!" Mae shouted as her friend walked down the road.

"Goodbye, Mae!" Bea said aloud with some conclusiveness.

Locking the door behind her, Mae decided to go have a nap. Getting emotional always drained her. Even if she did feel pretty stupid about how she acted in retrospect. Still, she was relieved that Bea had been so cool about everything. Turned out she had nothing to be worried about in the first place.

Dinner was uneventful, and though her parents could tell that Mae wasn't being fully forthcoming when they asked how her day went, they chose not to press the issue and instead settled on having a nice quiet meal together.

Mae chose to skip watching TV with dad. Instead, Mae hopped onto her laptop. She was hoping to see if she could catch Bea before bed. It was hard to know when she would be home given her crazy work schedule. Though Bea had mentioned that her dad had started slowly getting back into his job.

That would be nice, Mae thought to herself, shortly before thinking that she should get around to playing some Demontower V: Butchering on the Giblet Sea. She'd barely had a chance to do so since it came out and she needed something to distract her from her pretty embarrassing day.

Though before she could do that, she heard that familiar messaging sound. Deciding to forego her gaming for the evening she clicked on the small graveyard icon instead.


	6. Chapter 6

Mae peeled herself from bed, slowly coming to realize that her alarm was buzzing quite loudly. After fumbling for the snooze button, Mae sat in bed for a few minutes trying to shake the fog in her head. Looking out the window it definitely seemed to be mid-afternoon. "So much for an early start." she muttered to herself.

Standing up her legs felt wobbly. She still felt very tired, in spite of her ungodly amount of sleep. Maybe she *was* sick, she wondered.

Memories from the day before suddenly tumbled into her mindscape. A mixture of shame and embarrassment rolled over her. She tried to shake the feeling, remembering what Bea told her the night before.

Beabea: "It's not a big deal. Really. It's a non-issue."

Maeday: "You don't think it's dumb and childish? You think everything I do is dumb and childish."

Beabea: "If it helps you cope, then it's actually a kind of adult thing to do."

Maeday: "Ugh! No! Don't ruin this for me."

Beabea: "Fine. It's childish. And it's kinda dumb. But it's harmless. And I really don't care."

Maeday: "Geez! Don't hold back or anything!"

Beabea: "You insisted."

Maeday: "I did! And you shall take this secret TO YOUR GRAVE!"

Beabea: "I'll have it cremated with the rest of my dark clandestine secrets. Along with the husk of what used to be my idealism and hope for the future."

Maeday: "Dark."

Beabea: "It's something to look forward to."

Mayday: "Oookayyyyy.... Imma turn in."

Beabea: "Good night, Mae."

Maeday: "Goodnight Bea."


	7. Chapter 7

Mae made her way downstairs. Her mom and dad were long gone, so it was up to her to figure out what to do with herself for the day. After days of sulking by herself she suddenly felt like company. Maybe seeing Bea had reminded her how awesome having friends around can be.

"Maybe there's still time to catch Bea at work." Mae said to no one in particular. "Or Gregg. Or Angus" she added, realizing that she hadn't seen them in a while.

Diving out the door without much of a second thought, Mae made her way down the street to find a friend or two.

Stopping at the Ol' Pickaxe, Mae was surprised to see Mr. Santello behind the counter.

"Hello, Mae. If you're looking for Bea, she's currently out on a job." he explained as he fumbled with the till. "Something about a furnace, she said."

"Mrs. Miranda." Mae approached the counter.

"Yeah, dunno when she'll be back." Mr. Santello said apologetically. "I can let her know you dropped by."

"Don't worry about it. I know she's busy. I have other stuff to do anyway! See you later Mr. Santello!" Mae waved heading out the door.

"See you around, Mae." Mr. Santello said with a wave goodbye.

Mae decided to make her way to the Video Outpost "Too" hoping instead to catch Angus, and perhaps a Gregg thereafter.

"Hello, Mae. Feeling better?" greeted the large posh bear standing behind the counter as. While never terribly close, Mae had develop a fondness for the big guy. He too had developed a type of protectiveness towards Mae that you often see displayed by older siblings or uncles. Especially after the events of that night in the woods.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mae asked suspiciously, eyes narrowed.

"I heard from Bea that you had been sick for a few days. Gregg and I were thinking of paying you a visit."

"Does this mean we can go get Gregg when you're done here?"

"Sure. My shift is pretty much over. The night shift is already in the back."

"Excellent! We shall fetch your paramour post haste!"

"That doesn't-" Angus stopped himself, realizing he didn't have the energy to go down this path right now. "Nevermind. Let's go."


	8. Chapter 8

"So did you guys have any plans?" Mae asked, now fully informed of what the word 'paramour' actually meant; thanks in no small part to Angus.

"Other than seeing you, not really." Angus replied as they made their way to the Snack Falcon. "There was a party we had thought about going to, but we weren't too committed to it. Gregg was pretty worried about you when he heard you were sick." he elaborated as they arrived at their destination.

"MAAAAAEEEEEEEEEE!" yelled the orange fox, arms flailing, from behind the counter. He was excitable as ever, and never failed to make Mae smile.

"I LIVE!" Mae yelled back, wide eyed, arms in the air.

"Too bad you didn't die from your brain boiling from fever!" Gregg joked.

"Too bad you didn't die from boredom without me!" Mae shot back.

"Too bad neither of you have been crushed under the existential weight of your own mortality." Angus said rather flatly.

"Wow, Angus." Mae said surprised.

"Too much?" Angus apologized.

"Nono!" Mae interjected. "That was good!"

"Yeah, Cap'n!" Gragg added. "Come to the dark side!"

"I thought we already were on the dark side?" Angus said wryly.

"That's a loaded statement." Mae stared off into nothing, big red eyes wide.

"I guess it is." Angus said, as Gregg hopped around the counter. "Ready to go, bug?"

"Now that Mae is better, we can all go to the party!" Gregg announced, unconcerned with leaving the Snack Falcon unattended.

"That depends on how she's feeling, bug." Angus cautioned. "She should probably take it easy fo-"

"Naw, I'm good!" Mae interrupted, "I'm tired of being cooped up by myself!"

"If you're sure..." Angus said with some concern.

"You heard her! Let's go!" Gregg was already out the door.


	9. Chapter 9

"And Bea said she was going to try and make it out to the party too." Gregg prattled on excitedly as they made their way down the street.

"Mae, if you start to feel bad, you to tell us right away." Angus interjected. "I don't want you to get sick again."

"I'm ok, Angus. Really." Mae said, slightly annoyed. "But thanks. And I will." she added, not wanting to sound ungrateful.

Before long they arrived at an abandoned garage. Weather was still too cold for having a any events outside, and from the sounds of it the party was well under way.

"I'm gonna grab drinks!" Gregg said excitedly.

"I'll just have some punch or whatever." Mae said sheepishly, hoping to avoid a repeat of last time.

"Oh yeah. Sorry." Gregg said, in a somewhat more serious than usual tone.

"Nothing to be sorry about." Mae shot back. "I'm gonna go dance or something." shortly before disappearing into the crowd.

Gregg and Angus soon found a nice spot from whence they could keep an eye on Mae and have a little time to themselves. It was loud, but not terribly crowded. They could easily see Mae across the room having some punch and chatting with none other than Germ, whom she'd struck a peculiar friendship with over the last few months.

"I see you guys made it." Bea said, approaching the two lovebugs from out of nowhere, Jackie in tow.

"Hi Bea!" Gregg said, happily. "Mae is here too!"

"Is that a good idea?" Bea asked with some worry.

"She insisted." Angus explained. "We made her promise to tell us if she doesn't feel good."

"Can you even count on her to do that?" Jackie asked incredulously. She was never Mae's biggest fan to begin with, and struggled to understand why Bea insisted on spending as much time with Mae as she did.

"She's fine. She's hanging out with Germ over by the punch bowl." Gregg asserted indignantly.

"You mean the RUM punch?" Jackie asked, eyebrow raised.

"Oh no..." Bea bemoaned with a facepalm.


	10. Chapter 10

"Thiss punsh iss ssour." Mae slurred as she approached the gang. "I thing iss spiked..."

"I didn't know she wasn't supposed to drink." Germ said apologetically trailing behind Mae. "I would have warned her."

"I'm just going to be anywhere else right now." Jackie gritted her teeth walking away.

"Angush tol' me to tell if'n I'm not feeeeling gud..." Mae slurred defiantly. "And thatss what ahm doin'!" she said to a now gone Jackie.

"That's ok, Mae." Angus calmly spoke, putting his hand on Mae's shoulder. "You came and told us. Just as we asked. Thank you."

"We got this. Thanks Germ." Gregg added. Germ nodded in acknowledgement before disappearing into the scenery as he is often known to do.

"I'll drive her home, guys." Bea said decisively, car keys already in hand, frustration in her voice. "Angus, help get her to my car?"

"Of course." Angus nodded as he tried to lead Mae out to the exit.

Not having much success of getting Mae to move in the direction he wanted, Angus figured it best to simply carry her to the car. Mae instinctively latched onto Angus like a small spidermonkey. The claws stung a bit, but Angus figured it was better than risk dropping her.

Bea opened the front passenger door, making it easy for Angus to drop her into the front seat. That is, if Mae would let go. She'd practically fallen asleep from the garage to the car and was in what could only be described as some sort of sleep-deathgrip, mumbling to herself.

Managing to pry Mae off with some assistance from a very amused Gregg, they secured her onto the seat with the seatbelt.

"What's that?" Asked Gregg pointing at Mae, who had curled up into the seat.

"That's her butt, bug." Angus answered wryly.

"Ha-ha." Gregg said sarcastically. "I mean that." he said, pointing at what was an obvious diaper sticking out of the back of the drunk cat's pants.

"Whatever you think it is, Gregg, please keep it to yourselves." Bea scolded, pulling Mae's shirt over the exposed diaper, sitting herself in the driver's seat.

"Is she still sick?" Angus asked, somewhat worried.

"No... she's..." Bea hesitated. "Can we talk later? And don't tell her that you saw anything."

"Of course. Drive safe." Angus closed the passenger door allowing Bea to drive off.


	11. Chapter 11

"Ahm sowrreeee!" cried Mae, "I did-didin' mean to ruh-ruh-ruin the puh-puh-party!"

"You didn't ruin anything." Bea sighed, now wishing Mae had stayed asleep the whole trip home. "You weren't well. I am taking you home. No harm done."

"Buh-but..." Mae tried to argue, choking back tears.

"You did the right thing." Bea said trying to calm down the clearly drunk and upset kitty. "I'm not mad."

"Ah-are yuh-you shoore..." Mae asked sheepishly.

"You didn't do me any favors." Bea admitted, "But... I understand that this wasn't exactly your fault, either. I'll have to deal with Jackie later. But whatever."

"J-Jackie?" Mae asked somewhat confused.

"I'm trying to get her to understand you a bit better. You two actually have a lot in common." Bea hesitated for a bit before adding, "Tonight probably didn't help."

"I did-didn' mean to! Really!" Mae protested.

"I know." Bea stated, clearly starting to get annoyed. It appeared to be enough to convince Mae to stop apologizing.

Mae remained quiet for the rest of the ride, half-drunk half-asleep, much to Bea's relief.

"We're here." Bea slowly parked in front of the Borowski's house. "Mae?" she tried shaking the once again conked out cat.

"Of course..." Bea lamented as she made her way around to the passenger seat.

Mae was surprisingly easy to lift. "Must be all those years of working at the Ol' Pickaxe" Bea thought to herself, proving to be much stronger than she looked.

Thankfully Bea had the foresight to dig Mae's keys out of her pocket before pulling her out of the car. Though she fumbled a bit trying to open the door and not drop her catatonic friend. Using a leg to leverage Mae helped Bea get the key in the door and turn the knob.

Stumbling through the door, cat in arms, it appeared everyone was in bed by now. "So much for getting any help from the parents." she muttered to herself as she slowly lugged her friend up the stairs to her bedroom.

After what seemed like an eternity, Bea finally managed to stuff Mae into her bed. Tucking her in, Bea took a moment to breathe; noticing how deceptively peaceful Mae appeared when not jumping around, being a vandal or talking.

Getting ready to make her way out, Mae stirred in bed and mumbled, "Bea...?"


	12. Chapter 12

Mae woke up feeling like a ton of bricks. She didn't know what time it was, nor did she care. She tried to slowly make her way out of bed. Taking a few tentative steps her foot caught on something and she suddenly found herself falling.

"Ow! What the-" Bea woke up abruptly, a hungover Mae on top.

"What're you doin' 'ere?" Mae asked, unmoving.

"You asked me to." Bea groaned, trying to muster the energy to shove the cat off.

"I don' 'member..." Mae tried to recall, head in a fog.

"I expect you don't remember much of last night." Bea explained.

"Onnoh... did I trow up?" Mae panicked.

"No. You didn't throw up." Bea answered, exhausted with this conversation already. "Can you get off? Or do I need to pick you up myself again?"

"You kin' do dat?" Mae asked incredulously.

"Yes. Though I would much rather not." Bea stated dryly. "Please get off."

Mae rolled over onto the floor next to Bea, who sighed with a monotone, "Thanks." before reaching for a cigarette.

"Hey!" Mae complained.

"Force of habit..." Bea apologized, putting the cigarette away.

"Onnoh! You godda ged to work!" Mae suddenly panicked, startling Bea.

"Could you just... chill out? Please? For a bit? Mae?" Bea said massaging the temples of her forehead. "I called dad. I took the day off."

"Why...?" Mae asked, trying to pull herself together.

"Because you asked me to. Because you're my friend. Because I wanted to make sure that you were ok." Bea answered flatly, letting her words hang for a minute.

Mae didn't know quite how to respond to that, so she just hugged Bea as tightly as she could and said, "Thanks, Bea..."

"And don't take this the wrong way, Mae..." Bea hesitated, "But you reek."


	13. Chapter 13

"I mean it", Bea demanded, "Bath. Now."

"I wanna to go back to bed!" Mae protested.

"You've slept enough." Bea declared, "And, in case you haven't noticed, you need a change."

"What?" Mae asked before it suddenly dawned on her, "Oh... Wait! No! I don't usually... It musta been cuz I was drunk!" she protested.

"I'm amazed it took you so long to notice." Bea shrugged. "Better than wetting the bed I suppose..."

"Fine. Whatever. I'm going." Mae shot back defiantly, trying to stand up, only to fall back down, still hungover from the previous night.

"Want some help there?" Bea asked trying to stifle a laugh.

"No! The floor is nice!" Mae insisted, "I believe I shall lay here and slide my way to the tub!"

"The one in the downstairs bathroom." Bea snarked, finding it harder not to laugh at the absurdity of it all. "Suit yourself."

"You can go now!" Mae waved Bea away, "Yer services are no longer required!"

"I'm tempted." Bea snorted, picking up the hungover cat off the floor.

"I doth protest!" Mae complained.

"I doth not care." Bea countered as she began to make her way downstairs, Mae securely in her arms.

While Mae took her bath Bea decided to make her way to the kitchen. She figured Mae should be fine siting down in a tub of water while she figured out a way to get them fed and hydrated. She was somewhat relieved to find that Mae's parents had already left for work. Bea didn't want to have to be the one to explain to Mae's parents why she just stepped out of their daughter's bedroom. Who was still hungover, no less.

Looking around she decided she could whip up some eggs and bacon without much trouble. But before she could get to it, Bea heard a loud *thump* coming from the upstairs bathroom and the indisputable "Owowowowowow!" of Mae Borowski.

Bea sighed to herself and acquiesced to the forgone conclusion that today would be a long day.


	14. Chapter 14

Bea found a naked, soaked Mae sitting on the bathroom floor, head in hands. From the looks of it she'd slipped when she tried to get out of the tub.

"You ok there, Mayday?" Bea asked with some concern.

"Yeah, I just bumped my head." Mae answered rubbing her head. "I'll be fine."

"You've got a bit of a bump there." Bea said inspecting Mae's head of still-wet fur. "Let's go, then." Bea stated as she wrapped Mae in a towel and picked her up with ease, much to Mae's shock.

"Woah! Since when can you..?" Mae asked somewhat anxiously, not realizing she was digging her claws into Bea's back.

"Since yesterday." Bea answered dryly. "And ease up on the nails."

"Sorry!" Mae sheepishly retracted her claws. "You kinda caught me by surprise there."

"Good to know I can still surprise people." Bea snarked as she made her way upstairs, cat in arms.

Arriving at Mae's bedroom Bea plunked the towel-wrapped cat onto the bed and proceeded to rummage around for some clean clothes for Mae to wear.

"I can dress myself." Mae complained.

"My confidence in your ability to adult is somewhat depleted at this time." Bea snorted, clothes in hand.

"You think I'm a screw up!"

"You are hungover." Bea shot back with some anger at the accusation. "You also hit your head. You need to take it easy."

"B-" Mae tried to protest, but thought better.

"Lie down." Bea said with her usual pragmatism, holding what was clearly a disposable diaper in hand.

"Whowhatnow?" Mae asked incredulously.

"Don't make me ask again." Bea stated rather plainly. "I'd rather you weren't so difficult and would just trust me for a change."

"Ok, Beebee..." Mae agreed feeling slightly defeated.


	15. Chapter 15

Mae sat there, butterflies in her stomach. She'd never had anyone diaper her before. Though she'd always wondered about it, this wasn't exactly how she had imagined it ever happening.

"What's that look for?" Bea asked, snapping Mae back into reality. "I assumed you'd want one after the night you had."

"No! Yes! I mean..." Mae muttered flustered. "You don't have to..."

"Maybe I want to." Bea argued, surprising even herself. "Now lie down."

Mae lay herself back down onto the bed without protest. Before she knew his her friends scaly croc hands pulled her up by her feet, sliding a diaper underneath. Powder soon followed, and one taped bum later Bea was done.

"There. That wasn't so bad, was it?" Bea asked somewhat amused.

"You're way better at this than I am!" Mae sat up in amazement.

"I imagine it's easier than doing it yourself." Bea said pulling a shirt over the short cat's head.

"Can we skip those?" Mae asked as Bea reached for some pants.

"I think it's safe to assume you aren't going out today." Bea answered wryly.

"I promise I wont run off pantsless into the woods." Mae joked.

"Please don't." Bea commented dryly. "I don't have the luxury of pretending not to know you."

"Everybody knows you LO~O~OVE me!" Mae batted her big red eyes at Bea.

"Everybody knows I'm a sucker for lost causes." Bea said, trying hard not to care. But she did. She loved the strangely endearing ball of fur and anxiety that she called friend. Dysfunctional a friendship as it may be.

"Let's get some food into you", Bea announced, hoping to change the subject. "I'm pretty hungry and I bet you must be too."

"Tacos?!" Mae exclaimed excitedly.

"Bacon and eggs." Bea stated unflinchingly.

"Bacon and eggs!" Mae cheered with equal excitement.


	16. Chapter 16

"Bacon should be an all day food!" Mae licked her chops, happy to be full again.

"They are?" Bea looked at Mae with confusion and amusement. 

"Oh, right..." Mae realized. "So what're we up now?" she quickly asked changing the subject.

"'We' aren't doing anything." Bea admonished. "You're staying in and getting some rest. I have things to do."

"Aw. Bea, we never get a chance to hang during the day!" Mae whined. 

"That's because I usually have things to do during the day." Bea stated plainly picking up the plates off the table. 

"But your dad is working again!" Mae complained as Bea stuck the dishes in the wash.

"I still have a lot of responsibility at the Ol' Pickaxe." Bea explained as she cleaned up. "Besides I let you come with me whenever you want."

"I know. I just..." Mae hesistated. "I like *this*." she gestured around her.

"This?" Bea turned to look at Mae, eyebrow raised, "Me cleaning up after you? Again?" she snerked.

"No! I mean..." Mae felt bad for sounding inconsiderate. "I like spending time with you. It doesn't matter what!" 

"Relax. I'm not mad." Bea assured Mae. "You're right. Maybe with my dad working we'll be able to do this sort of stuff more often."

"Really?" Mae perked up, ears up, eyes wide.

"Yeah." Bea nodded, "And I don't mind helping you out if you need it."

"You're sure?" Mae asked somewhat incredulously.

"No one is forcing me, Mae." Bea said flatly. "I'm here after all. I must be ok with it. And I would appreciate it if you stopped second guessing my intentions. Though I know you can't always help it" she admitted.

"Thanks, Bea..." 

"Don't mention it. Now, I gotta get going... We can talk more later. You get some rest."

After seeing Bea out the door, Mae briefly considered heading out again; but quickly decided she would much rather go back to bed.


	17. Chapter 17

Mae woke up to the sound of the downstairs front door opening. Putting some pants on she decided to head down. She assumed it must be her mom, as her dad was probably still at work.

As expected, she found her mom in the downstairs kitchen, just about to sit down at the table. Mae hopped onto the counter with a bright, "Hi mom!"

"Hi sweetie!" Mrs. Boroski said, happy to see her daughter. "How was your sleepover with Bea?"

"How did you know about that?!"

"I saw her car parked outside this morning." Mrs. Borowski explained gesturing towards the street. "Did you two have fun?"

"I got sick from punch and Bea had to drive me home." Mae confessed. "She left earlier to do stuff. She made bacon!"

"That's nice of her. Be sure to thank her for looking out for you as often as she does." Mrs. Borowski said somewhat sternly. "Not everyone has friends they can count on like that."

"I know. And I do." Mae said mildly annoyed at being reminded to be thankful.

"Good. Otherwise I might have to embarrass you by going to the Ol' Pickaxe and thanking her myself." Mrs. Borowski teased. "Invite her over for dinner too!"

"You're already embarrassing me!" Mae rolled her eyes. 

"Embarrassing their kid in front of their girlfriend is part of being a parent." Mrs. Borowski shot back with a wry smile. 

"She's not my girlfriend!" Mae protested. "She's straight! She's told me herself!"

"She fusses over you more than anyone else. " Mrs. Borowski noted. "Not even her own father gets this much attention from her."

"Gregg and Angus look out for me too!" Mae argued. 

"And that's lovely of them to do." Mrs. Borowski agreed. "But those boys have each other. You have Bea."

"If you say so." Mae said hoping to drop the subject, "I'm gonna head out for a bit." Mae hopped off the counter and head towards the living room.

"Have fun." Mrs. Borowski said waving her daughter goodbye. "And hun? Get some longer shirts, maybe?"

"Augh!" Mae groaned pulling the back of her shirt down over her exposed diaper.


	18. Chapter 18

Mae found herself at Angus and Gregg's apartment building. Not having had much luck of finding either at their respective jobs, and feeling that she missed out on an evening out with them, she decided to pay them a visit and see if they were home.

The stairwell was open for a change, much to Mae's relief. Not having to risk being electrocuted by the buzzer again was probably a good sign, she thought.

After a quick hop up the stair and into the hallways, Mae found herself at the apartment and knocked.

Mae heard murmurs behind closed doors, but she could not make out what was being said. There was movement inside the apartment for sure. Before she knew it the door rattled.

"Oh! Hey there, Mae!" Gregg looked genuinely surprised. "I wasn't expecting to see you today after last night!" 

"Bea made sure I didn't die." Mae grinned. "Yet."

"Oh well, too bad you didn't-" Gregg said with a devious smile.

"Noooo." Angus chastised from the kitchen doorway. "Horrible death scenarios later."

"Aw..." Gregg whined giving Angus a pout who had made his way to the door.

"You promised." Angus pecked Gregg on the cheek and turned to Mae with a smile. "I'm glad to see you are feeling better. Please come in."

Gregg and Mae sat themselves on the couch while Angus sauntered back into the kitchen. It was here that Mae noticed the indistinguishable smell of cookies baking.

"Whatcha baking?!" Mae flopped on the couch and made herself comfortable, giving her shit a tug to make sure it sat over her hips. "Special occasion? I'm not bugging you guys am i?"

"Those are for you actually!" Gregg chuckled. "We were gonna head over to your place to check up on you. Angus wanted to bring something to cheer you up with. But you're here now so you saved us a trip!"

"I will accept your friendhip cookies!" Mae extended her arms. "Gimmie!"

"They won't be ready for a little while, yet." Gregg admitted. "But Angus is on it, and his chocolate chip cookies are the best!"

"Is it ok if I hang around then?" Mae inquired.

"Absolutely!" Gregg declared without hesitation. Leaning in Gregg whispered, "Besides... I been meaning to ask..."


	19. Chapter 19

"Bug, no!" Angus interrupted, having somehow materialized right next to the couch and divined exactly where Gregg was going.

"But..." Gregg complained. "We're compadres!"

"She needs to take it easy." Angus admonished while adjusting his glasses cooly. "Don't do anything that might stress her out."

"I'm right here you guys!" Mae chirped indignantly. 

"I'm sorry, Mae." Angus nodded acknowledging his slight rudeness. "Bea said you were pretty upset last night, and I would rather not do anything to upset you further."

"What are you even talking about?" Mae asked, confusion all over her face.

"We know about the diapers." Gregg blurted out. Angus facepalmed hard enough that a *slap* echoed through the apartment.

"I'm not gonna lie to her, cap'n!" Gregg complained, not noticing the now frozen Mae, wide-eyed and gazing off into nothingness.

"Oh, bug..." Angus lamented as he steppeded over to Mae. "It's ok. No one is judging you."

"Hey, you in there, Mae." Gregg waved both hands in front of the stunned cat.

"BEA TOLD YOU?!!" Mae finally snapped back to reality. 

"No! No!" Gregg protested waving his arms. 

"I CAN'T *BELIEVE* HER!" Mae continued, now standing up on the couch, paws on her face in a mix of terror and anger.

"MAE!" Angus called out sternly, looking Mae straight in the eyes. Mae's eyes met his with a mix of confusion and shame.

Having gotten her attention Angus calmly explained, "Bea didn't tell us anything. In fact she told us *not* to say anything about it." He gave Gregg a pleading look.

"We just found out, ok?" Gregg added, putting a hand on Mae's shoulder. "You were out cold and we were putting you in Bea's car and we just... noticed."

Mae nodded, slightly less upset, but still equally as embarrassed at this turn of events. 

"So..." Mae faintly tried to speak up, sitting back down on the couch.

"Hold that thought?" Angus asked gently before a loud *ding* rang from the kitchen.


	20. Chapter 20

There were worse ways of having your best friend find out about some deeply personal secret you had hoped to take to your grave. Getting 'get well soon slash sorry for being a butt' cookies certainly helped.

"That could have gone better." Angus lamented from across the table as he took a sip from his glass of milk. 

"S'ok..." Mae mumbled as she shoved two entire chocolate chip cookies into her mouth. "Ahm ober id!"

"Told you!" Gregg said triumphantly looking at Angus. "We don't need to hide anything from eachother cuz we're besties!"

"Naw..." Mae gulped the cookies down and spoke up. "You were definitely an assbutt the way you did it!"

Angus grinned smuggly in his chair and let Mae speak for herself.

"You coulda at least waited a bit to tell me." Mae continued as she grabbed three more cookies and began to gobble them up. "I jus' gob ub!"

"I was just curious!" Gregg grumbled to no one in particular.

"What? You wan't one?" Mae teased as she swallowed and reached for more cookies. "I can give you my dealer's number!" Mae added snidely before chomping down on said cookies.

"What? No! Maybe?! I dunno!" Gregg fumbled with his words. "I was just curious!" he repeated, as Angus stoically raised an eyebrow his way.

Mae shot up on her seat, "Omigob, Angub can be yor... *gulp* daddy!" pointing at Angus, who had suddenly turned several deep shades of red.

"Hey, be nice to the cap'n!" Gregg said with a wide grin on his face, enjoying this a little too much. "He's bashful!"

"Sorry!" Mae apologized sitting herself back down on her seat. "I just think it'd be cute."

"It's alright." Angus finally regaining his composure. "It's good that you can laugh about it." He nodded sagely.

"Yeah, I guess I really don't mind you guys knowing if you're gonna be this cool about it." Mae admitted, feeling much better than she had a while ago, before cookies were offered in an attempt to assuage her infantile wrath.

Angus began cleaning up the plates while Mae chugged down her entire glass of milk with gusto!

Before too long there was another knock at the door.


	21. Chapter 21

"Weren't expecting anyone today..." Angus looked at Gregg, who simply shrugged. "That's two." He mused as he made his way to the living room. 

Opening the door revealed a dishevelled looking Beatrice Santello on the other side.

"Oh, hi Bea!" Angus happily greeted the non-plussed crocodile. "Mae is here too!"

"Oh, good!" Bea visibly let go a bit of tension. "Her mom said she went out and hadn't come back yet."

"She's been here all afternoon, come on in!" Angus ushered Bea to the kitchen where Mae sat.

"Beabea!" Mae waved her arms wildly at her best friend. "Everybody's here now!"

"Not for long. I'm here to take you home." Bea dryly explained. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Oh, yeah, I guess it is pretty late..." Mae mumbled as she looked out the window to notice the sun had already gone down. "I guess I lost track of time?"

"It's ok." Bea sighed. "Your mom asked me to bring you back as a favor. She doesn't want you walking home alone if you're still sick."

"But I feel great!" Mae hopped up. "I am full of cookies!"

"Cookies?" Bea raised an eyebrow.

"Yes! Chocolate chip!" Mae answered proudly.

"*Just* cookies?" Bea asked a bit sterner, crossing her arms.

"Yeah, nothing but!" Mae cheerfully replied, misunderstanding the question.

"So you haven't eaten anything else all day..." Bea paused for effect. "...except for chocolate chip cookies." The tired crocodile shot a glance at Angus, who was looking a bit sheepish.

"I guess we forgot to ask if she'd, uh, eaten anything else..." Angus apologized. "We must've got a bit carried away."

"Come on, Mae." Bea turned towards the door. "I'll get you something to eat on the way home."

"But I'm already full!" Mae argued. "Full of cookies!"

Bea wanted to snark but had no snark to give and could only shake her head as she stepped out into the night.


	22. Chapter 22

Bea lit a cigarette as Mae lagged behind. The evening was cool and she much appreciated the fresh air. The empty streets made Possum Springs a different world at night. A calmer one.

"Did you have a good time with the boys?" Bea asked aloud as she took a few quick puffs.

"Yeah, though it was awkward at first." Mae admitted, catching up with Bea.

"How so?" Bea asked raising a brow.

Mae took a deep breath. "They knew about the diapers, and Gregg wanted to talk about it, but Angus didn't want him to upset me, but they were arguing about it in front of me, so Gregg told me anyway, and I assumed you'd told them, so I got real mad at you, but then Angus explained that you didn't, so then I wasn't, but it was all still weird." 

"But you sorted it out." Bea stated.

"Yeah, and we ate cookes." Mae added.

"And you ate cookies." Bea repeated dryly.

"So... were you worried about me?" Mae teased, an attempt to change the subject.

"Can you blame me?" Bea quipped trying not to smirk. 

"Yeah, I guess after last night..." Mae trailed off suddenly feeling shame.

"Hey! It's ok!" Bea turned to Mae, trying to get the cat to look at her. "I really don't mind!"

"Why not?" Mae demanded in a harsher tone than intended. "I mean... I don't get it? Most people don't go out of the way that you do for me." Her voice notably softened.

Bea took a drag of her cigarette and exhaled a puff of smoke into the air, as if trying to collect her thoughts. "Maybe I'm used to it?" Bea declared and continued walking.

"Taking care of shitty people?" Mae blurted out absent-mindedly. "No wait! I don't mean-" Mae bit her tongue. Bea stopped dead in her tracks, the short cat right behind the tall croc.

Bea exhaled one last breath of smoke, flicking the remainder of the cigarette butt away.

Mae could not see Bea's expression, but was nonetheless positive she'd screwed up yet again.

"Look, I get it. My dad was an asshole." Bea stated matter-of-factly, still looking away. "But there's more to him than that. And he deserves a chance."

"Just like there's more to you." Bea reaffirmed as she picked up the pace once more. "And you deserve a chance too."


	23. Chapter 23

The two friends found themselves in front of the Taco Buck. While Mae insisted that she was still full, that didn't stop Bea from getting something to eat for herself. Seating herself across from Mae in one of the empty booths, the crocodile slid a paper bag across the table.

"You don't have to eat now," Bea explained, "but you're at least going to take some food home. You can eat later if you want." 

"You didn't have to..." Mae started to complain but thought better of it. 

"I don't want your parents to think I brought you back without at least *trying* to get some food into you." Bea elaborated before chomping down onto her own taco bowl.

"I'm not a baby!" Mae complained.

"No, you're not." Bea answered flatly. "Give me some credit, Mae." Bea sat back, letting out a loud sigh, feeling exasperated.

"You should know by now that I think better of you than that." Bea's words had a tinge of hurt in them. "Instead of being so defensive all the time, a simple 'thank you' would be nice every once in a while."

Mae hesitated as Bea's words hung in the air. The goth croc's expression unflinching.

"I just..." Mae finally broke the silence. "I feel like you don't take me seriously."

"I take you *very* seriously." Bea insisted in a calm yet authoritative voice. "Your health, your emotional well-being. These are all things I am taking into consideration *constantly*."

"I watch out for you because I *know* that doing it yourself is sometimes a challenge." Bea continued, looking directly at Mae for emphasis. "I *know* those shortcomings are not your fault, that they're not *you*. But a result of your mental health."

"And..." Bea hesitated trying to pick her words. "I sometimes think that maybe if someone helped you out with that stuff more often, well, maybe you'd be able to be, I dunno, *yourself* more often. And do the things you *can* do more effectively. Rather than struggling all the time." 

After a few beats Bea went for another bite of her taco, thinking she was done talking.

Mae opened her mouth briefly before Bea continued, "I do these things because I think you're worth it! Not because I think so little of you!" The anger in her voice wasn't obvious, but it was there. 

"Hey Beebz." Mae finally interjected.

"What?" Bea asked looking frazzled.

"Thanks." Mae said with a big toothy smile.


	24. Chapter 24

"You're welcome, Mae." Bea nodded. All the anger and frustration dissipated as soon as it appeared that the stubborn wide-eyed cat had finally gotten the message. It remained to be seen whether or not it would stick. But for now, she was just grateful for the acknowledgement.

"But seriously, Bea..." Mae snickered with an impish grin. "Tell me how you *really* feel."

Bea stared at Mae unflinching and silent, slowly and deliberately chewing on her food.

"Heh... I mean..." Mae fumbled to think of something, starting to feel as if she's made a mistake.

Bea swallowed, eyebrow raised, eyes still fixated on Mae, anticipating whatever spaghetti string of words the cat would conjure up next.

"Uh... er... that is... sorry?" Mae said flinching in anticipation of Bea's barbed words. "Please don't be mad."

"I suppose." Bea finally spoke up with a self-satisfied grin. "Since you asked nicely, after all."

"You can be real mean, you know that!" Mae huffed melodramatically, realizing she'd been played.

"Is that so?" Bea snorted. 

"You get a lot more bees with honey, y'know!" Mae declared turning her nose up.

"I think you mean..." Bea began to correct, but decided against it. "Nevermind. I'm almost done here, so we should get you home soon."

"If you say so..." Mae acquiesced as she gave out a big yawn and stretched her arms out on her side of the table.

"I do say so." Bea stated matter-of-factly.

Bea was just finishing her last bite of food when she noticed Mae looking uncomfortable and fidgeting in her seat.

"What's wrong?" Bea asked, starting to clear the table. "You're twitchier than usual."

"I just..." Mae hesitated before leaning in towards Bea. "I really gotta pee!"


	25. Chapter 25

"That all?" Bea snerked. "There's the bathroom. Don't let me stop you." She aimed her thumb towards the public bathroom doors.

"But Beabea!" Mae whined. "They're grooooooosss!" Mae rocked back and forth in her seat.

"How bad can it be?" Bea asked, suddenly realizing who she was asking. This was Mae Borowski. If she's grossed out, it *had* to be bad. 

"Tampons clogging the toilet bad." Mae replied in a low voice.

"Maybe they're clean tonight?" Bea shrugged, hoping to coax her into the bathroom.

"I already checked while you were ordering." Mae explained. "Tampons. In. Toilet."

"Ew..." Bea was visibly disgusted. "Hold it until we get you home then. We're not that far."

"I don't know if I can make it?" Mae protested with a worried look on her face.

"Then we should hurry, then." Bea suggested, realizing that Mae wasn't fooling around. "My place is closer. We can stop by there first." Bea gestured towards the exit as she tossed their garbage into a nearby bin.

Mae grabbed her bag of food and sprinted right on behind Bea and made their way outside. While not exactly running, they walked at a brisk pace.

"I'm guessing you didn't have to go while you were at the boy's place?" Bea asked trying to hide her annoyance. It had been a long day and it just didn't seem to want to end. Still, she didn't want Mae to feel at fault for it.

"No, I didn't!" Mae uttered indignantly. "Can we hurry a bit more?" A worried tone now in her voice.

"We're only a few blocks away." Bea shot back.

"Okay!" Mae began sprinting down the sidewalk.

"Hey hold up!" Bea's energy levels were so low she could barely keep up.

"See you there!" Mae could be heard as she went around the corner, out of Bea's sight.

"You can't get in if you don't have my keys!" Bea shouted back at no one.


	26. Chapter 26

Bea was huffing by the time she made it to her apartment building; years of smoking having done her no favors. Nonetheless, she'd made it somehow. Catching her breath, she noticed Mae was already standing by the entrance to the building.

"O... kay..." Bea tried to catch her breath for a moment. "We made it." She was relieved, if only for a moment, before she noticed the look of anguish on Mae's face.

"No we didn't..." Mae whined defeated, tears welling up in her eyes. "I'm sorry!"

"Mae..." Bea pinched the middle of her nose with her finger and thumb and took a deep breath. "It's ok. Let's just get you in there. We can get you cleaned up."

"I'm so sorry Bea!" Mae looked down at the pavement, tears streaming down her face. "All I do is cause trouble for you!" The disgruntled cat shoved her paws into her eyes, trying to wipe away the tears.

"Mae. Listen to me." Bea put her hands on Mae's shoulders. "None of that, ok? What did I just tell you earlier?" There was a kindness behind the sterness of her voice.

Mae could only muster a nod between open sobs now. Bea got her keys and unlocked the door. Taking Mae by the hand Bea led the sad cat into the building and up to the apartment.

Bea flicked the light switch as she entered her home. She assumed her father must have gone to bed, which was just as well. He had been doing much better, but Bea was still uncomfortable dropping company in on him like this.

"Go to my room." Bea instructed. "I have to put some things away and I'll meet you there in a minute."

Mae did as she was told. Even in the darkened apartment she made her way there with ease. Though walking had become something quite discomforting. Thankfully the diaper she had been wearing appeared to have held up. So far, anyway.

Bea's room was still mostly unpacked boxes, but some effort had been made to spruce the place up a bit since last Mae was here. Not wanting to risk leaking onto the bed, Mae decided to simply stand by the door and wait for Bea.

Before long Bea walked into the bedroom. Without saying a word the goth lizard started rummaging through her closet. “There we are…” She mused to herself. 

Having found what she was looking for, Bea turned to Mae. The cat's eyes widened when she noticed the diapers in Bea’s hands. The same kind she wore. She opened her mouth as if to ask why Bea had those in her bedroom of all places.

"Because I think about these things, Maeday." Bea answered the unasked question. "Now, let's get you cleaned up."


	27. Chapter 27

"I figured you wouldn't mind if I took some to my place, just in case." Be explained in a low hush as she ushered the cat into the bathroom. "Try to keep it low, my dad's asleep. It takes a lot to wake him up, but I'd rather not chance it."

Mae just nodded. Crying had taken a lot out of her, and she no longer had the emotional energy to protest or be smart about things.

Bea tried to lighten the mood a bit. "I'll get a bath running. Sit down and catch your breath." Bea pointed at the toilet seat.

Mae shook her head and looked down, refusing to move.

"Oh... Right. That'd probably be uncomfortable right now." Bea guessed at Mae's hesitation. "Do you want to take it from here? Or do you need help?"

"I don't *need* any help." Mae's voice was like a whisper, but the defiant tone Bea had become all too familiar with was there nonetheless.

"Allow me to rephrase that." Bea crossed her arms. "Do you *want* help?"

Mae just stood quietly. She wanted to be mad. Mad at herself. Mad at Bea. Why was she like this? Why couldn't she just accept the help and not be so difficult about it? Shame and disappointment in herself rushed over her. Mae just wanted to curl up into a ball and tune everything out.

Bea began lifting Mae's shirt off, snapping the shorter cat out of her inner wallowing. The croc deftly pulled it off in one quick gesture and tossed it into the corner. It was almost as if she'd done this before. Her shoes were next to go and came off almost as easily. Never tying them properly probably helped.

Mae wanted to complain when Bea reached to unbutton her pants, though she didn't. She lifted one leg up and then the next as Bea added her pants to the pile of clothes in the corner.

"Not making a fuss." Bea dryly teased. "You *must* be tired."

Mae was now in nothing but a wet and unpleasant diaper. Unsure what to do she simply stood there and waited for Bea's lead. 

Before she knew it, Bea had untaped the diaper, tossed it in the trash and guided Mae into a slightly-colder-than-she-would-have-preferred bath. Bea then sat next to her on the outside of the tub. 

"I guess you can take it from here." Bea could no longer hide the exhaustion in her voice. "I can sit with you for a bit if that helps. But I really do need to go to bed soon. You can crash here if you want."

Mae simply nodded.


	28. Chapter 28

"Hey, Beabea!" Mae shook the croc with a start. 

"Huh?" Bea groaned. "What?"

"You fell asleep on the bathroom floor." Mae explained. "I'm done with my bath."

Rubbing her eyes, Bea took a long look at the cat, now wearing a towel around her; though still soaked and dripping water everywhere. Bea found herself without the energy to complain.

"Maybe we should, uh, go to your room?" Mae suggested picking up her clothes from the floor.

"Yeah, we probably should." Bea groaned again as she stood up and made her way out of the bathroom. The short nap she took hadn't helped as much as she'd have liked. But soon she'd be asleep in her own bed, and that was enough.

Upon entering the bedroom, Bea grabbed Mae's towel and dried her off proper. She then gestured towards her bed, "Sit."

Mae did as she was told. She didn't want to be any more of a pain for Bea than she'd already been. Though she was beginning to feel self-conscious about her nakedness.

"Don't fuss." Bea sighed, noticing Mae's awkwardness. “Lie down, please.” Bea was appreciative that Mae obliged for a change. She unfolded the diaper and explained “I just don’t want to take any chances, ok?”

Mae wanted to protest, but decided against it, as she lay on Bea’s bed. She found it increasingly difficult to make eye contact and just wanted to get this over with.

“Now, up.” Bea tapped Mae on the side of her hip. Still feeling oddly nervous doing this in her best friend’s bedroom of all places, Mae did as instructed. Bea deftly slid the diaper underneath the beleaguered cat and followed with a fresh dose of powder. A second later Mae was taped up snugly. 

Bea appeared satisfied with her handiwork. Without another word, she stepped out of the room. Mae sat up in the bed wondering where her crocodile companion had run off to.

Mae was soon surprised to see Bea come back in nothing but panties and a bra. 

"Laundry." Bea explained, noting Mae's expression. "Your clothes were pretty gross too. They're in the wash. I'll toss 'em in the dryer in the morning."

Flicking off the bedroom lights, Bea finally crawled into bed with Mae. Ducking under the sheets, she popped off her bra and tossed it into a corner.

"Try to get some sleep, Mae." Bea could barely muster the strength to be stern about it.

"Okay." Mae ducked under the covers as well and got comfy next to Bea.

Mae took a moment to breathe in and think about all that happened today. But she was... content? She couldn't quite figure out why?

It wasn't long before her mind began to wander, "Hey Beabea..."

A pillow met with the cat’s face, along with the decree that she, "Sleep!"


	29. Chapter 29

Mae woke up to find herself alone in Bea's bed. Assuming Bea had left for work, Mae decided to get dressed, only to realize she had no idea where her clothes were. "Burrito blanket it is!" she said to no one in particular, wrapping herself up in bed sheets.

Looking down the hall it seemed as if no one was home. Hopefully today was one of the days Mr. Santello was also at work. Mae always found him awkward to talk to. She certainly did not want to run into him while half-naked and wearing a toga blanket.

Making her way to the kitchen, Mae found a one Beatrice Santello focused on making what appeared to be pancakes, still wearing nothing more than her panties. "Morning Beabea!"

"Whattha-!" Bea practically jumped out of her skin. Relieved to find Mae standing across the kitchen from her, the croc shook her head, "Jeez, Mae, I wasn't expecting you to be up for hours."

"Is it really that early?" Mae asked, trying hard not to stare at the topless goth girl in front of her.

"Well, it's closer to lunch time than breakfast." Bea admitted, turning back to the stove, "But I figured pancakes could also be anytime food. I was going to save you some, but you might as well eat now."

Bea swiftly plated several pancakes on a plate and put them on the counter alongside a big jar of maple syrup. "Help yourself."

"Don't you think this is unfair?" Mae grumbled, looking away.

"What are you talking about?" Bea asked with a confused look.

"All... this!" Mae gestured towards Bea's mostly nude body, while looking out of the corner of her eye.

"You're getting bashful on me... *now*?" Bea asked dryly, one eyebrow raised.

"Well... like... you probably don't look at me and think I'm hot and stuff!" Mae admitted, heat rising in embarrassment.

"Oh..." Bea blushed a bit in surprise, face still expressionless as ever. "I suppose that *is* unfair of me. Sorry, Mae. I'll go get our stuff from the dryer. Like I said before, I didn't think you would be up just yet."

"Thanks, Bea." Mae found it difficult to look at Bea after just having admitted that she found the gothic croc attractive. 

"Eat something while I go get dressed." Bea made her way towards the laundry room. "You can get dressed after you get some food in you."

"Okay!" Mae reached for pancakes and syrup.


	30. Chapter 30

Mae was just finishing her plate when Bea walked back into the kitchen. She was fully clothed in her usual goth aesthetic, much to Mae's relief. In her arms were Mae's own clothes, freshly pressed.

"I suppose you're in good enough shape to handle this yourself?" Bea put Mae's clothes on a chair nearby.

"Oh yeah!" Mae hopped over to grab her stuff. "I'm feeling better than I have in a while!"

"Amazing what some food and a good night's sleep will do for you." Bea said wryly.

"Your bed is sooooo much nicer than my stupid old futon!" Mae tossed her shirt on.

"You think so?" Bea seemed unconvinced, as she watched Mae struggle to get her head through the neck of the shirt. "I've had that thing forever."

"Well, it's an actual bed, for starters!" Mae explained as she reached for her pants. "And you probably haven't wrecked it in as many creative ways as I have mine."

"Fair point." Bea nodded as Mae hopped into her pants both legs at once. "Anyway, once you get ready, I'll take you home. I told my dad you were still sick and I'd come in later in the day once I got you home safely. He was surprisingly cool about it."

"That's good, right?" Mae said, buttoning up her pants up around her diapers. She pulled her shirt over to hide any evidence of the plastic padding.

"I think it is." Bea answered, looking away. "He just asked if we were ok and that he'd see me at work later. Didn't even prod me for an explanation. I'm still not used to him being so... I dunno... considerate? And reliable? But he's been working at it."

"I'm glad." Mae felt relieved. "I was worried he might've been upset about me just crashing unannounced."

"I didn't think he would. Jackie used to crash here all the time back when she and her folks weren't getting along." Bea said absent-mindedly, turning towards Mae and adding, "Uh, don't tell her I told you that..."

Without a word Mae zipped her lips and threw away the key.

"C'mon, we should get you home." Bea prodded, changing the subject. "I already called your mom this morning and told her you stayed the night. I didn't tell them anything about your accident. So you should be good."

"Don't underestimate my mom's ability to snoop!" Mae half-joked as she followed Bea to the front door of the apartment. "She works at a church after all!" 

"Noted." Bea gave Mae a toothy grin, despite herself. "Got everything?"


	31. Chapter 31

Bea walked Mae up to her doorstep. It had taken longer for the two girls to pull themselves together than the gothic lizard had anticipated and she was starting to feel the need to rush off to work asap.

“Tell your folks I said hi for me?” Bea stood one step below Mae. “I have a lot of stuff to catch up to at work, so I might not be able to hang out later today.”

“That’s ok.” Mae’s mind appeared to be elsewhere. “Can I drop by tomorrow?”

“Ask me again tonight when I log on.” Bea was already walking away. “I gotta run!”

And with that Mae found herself standing alone on her porch. A part of her thought she should go in, but for some reason her body wouldn’t flinch. 

Mae already didn’t like the feeling she was having. She couldn’t put her finger on it. All the sturdy little cat knew was that her day was already a bit bleaker now that Bea was gone. She made a mental note to say ‘thank you’ to her friend more often.

Taking a deep breath, Mae finally opened the door to her house and made her way in. She could already hear her mother in the kitchen and figured she might as well pay tribute now. “Hey mom, I’m home!” 

“I’m in the kitchen!” Mrs. Borowski echoed back.

Mae made her way over to her usual spot on the counter, as her mom was just sitting down at the table.

“How are you, sweetie?” Mrs. Borowski smiled. “I heard you weren’t feeling well.”

“Oh, I’m much better now!” Mae chirped as she hopped onto the counter. The feeling of her padded bum becoming much more obvious to her all of a sudden. “Thanks to Bea, of course!” 

“Did you make sure to thank her for the help?” Mrs. Borowski asked gingerly.

“Yeah…” Mae nodded looking away. “We kinda talked about it.” 

“Talked about what?” Mrs. Borowski tilted her head to the side just ever so slightly, eager to hear what her daughter had to say.

“About how I should stop making such a big deal about stuff.” Mae said out loud, as if to no one in particular. “How I should just be thankful about the help I get when I get it.”

“And how, like, she really just wants to help.” Mae continued. “That she doesn’t think I’m some charity case. That I’m worth the hassle.”

“That sounds lovely.” Mrs. Borowski said with a wry smile.

“Yeah…” Mae appeared to be somewhat lost in her thoughts. “I guess it is.”


	32. Chapter 32

Mae had excused herself to her room after dinner. She considered watching some TV with her dad, but decided against it. The wide-eyed cat wanted to get an early start on her most important work of all: sleeping.

But before she could do that, she needed to pop open her laptop and see how her somber crocodile friend had fared today.

Making herself comfy in her bed, Mae reached for her laptop and placed it on her lap. Pressing the power button she felt the computer whir into life once more.

The monitor lit up, and after a few screens of data and some loading she noticed she already had a few messages, from both Gregg and Bea.

She clicked on Bea’s message first, wondering whether or not it would be ok to visit her at work the next day.

Beabea: “Hey Mae, you should prob stay home or do something else tomorrow. One of the guys called in sick and me and dad are doing double time to catch up. Sorry.” 

Mae frowned at the message, as if pouting at it would make it go away. She wasn’t sure if Bea was actually online still, but Mae figured she should acknowledge that the message was received nonetheless.

Mayday: “Boooooo! That sucks! But ok, I guess.”

Mae sat back and started to think about what she’d want to do the next day if Bea was unavailable. She assumed Gregg and Angus would be working as well. But perhaps she could hang around their jobs for a bit. Gregg certainly wouldn’t mind.

A light *ding* notified that she’d received a response message. She clicked at Bea’s response.

Beabea: “Thanks for understanding. We can probably do something later this weekend if you want.”

Mayday: “Like what?”

Beabea: “I don’t know? Is there anything you would you like to do?”

Mayday: “Can we get out of town for a bit?”

Beabea: “I have some days off coming up in a few weeks. I can ask Angus if we can borrow his car.”

Mayday: “You drive! I’ll co-pilot!”

Beabea: “Where did you want to go?”

Mayday: “I dunno… Just... somewhere not here.”

Beabea: “Fair enough. I’ll see what I can come up with.”

Mayday: “Beabea?”

Beabea: “What?”

Mayday: “Are you, like... my girlfriend?”


	33. Chapter 33

Mae felt her heart sink. Every second felt like a thousand years. Why did she ask such a stupid question? Of course Bea isn’t her girlfriend! Was this just wishful thinking? Or was Mae harboring deeper feelings than even she understood? 

Mae reached to slam the laptop closed when the familiar response *ding* played.

Beabea: “What brought this on all of a sudden?”

Mae could hear Bea’s sigh of frustration from behind the screen. Clearly Bea was trying to be diplomatic about this mess Mae had now put them in.

Collecting her thoughts, the now perturbed cat had to figure a way to smooth things over.

Mayday: “Nevermind! PLS IGNORE!”

As usual, Mae was not her best at smoothing things over.

Beabea: “Mae, do you have feelings for me?”

Mayday: “I don’t think so! I mean, maybe? I don’t know why I asked that, I swear!”

Beabea: “Mae. It’s ok.”

Beabea: “I’m not mad.”

Beabea: “But I AM very tired.”

Beabea: “And this is a conversation I really do not have the energy for right now.”

Beabea: “But it IS a conversation we are going to need to have at some point or other. Hopefully sooner rather than later.”

Mayday: “Can we just forget I asked and bury me in a ditch?”

Beabea: “No Mae. You don’t get to bail on life so long as I draw breath.”

Beabea: “We should be caught up in a couple of days at work. I’ll come see you and we can talk then if you feel like it.”

Beabea: “Or not. I’m not going to force you.”

Beabea: “But right now I need some sleep. Good night, Mae.”

Mae sat staring at the screen, her face illuminated by the faint glow of the monitor, unsure what to do with herself now.


	34. Chapter 34

“Gregg!” Mae remembered in a panic. “I need to talk to Gregg!” She rushed to check the message that her foxy friend had left her earlier in the evening.

GreggRulz: “Sorry for making things weird before! Come by my place tomorrow after work if you wanna hang out!”

It was already pretty late, but Mae decided it was worth seeing if he was still up.

Mayday: “I did something reeeeeeeaaaaally stupid!”

After what felt like forever, a response materialized.

GreggRulz: “Like, how stupid?”

GreggRulz: “I forgot to put some pants on stupid?”

GreggRulz: “Or I ran with the bulls stupid?

GreggRulz: “‘Cuz I can see you doing either equally.”

Mayday: “More like I told Bea I liked her stupid.”

GreggRulz: “NO WAY!”

GreggRulz: “What she say?!”

Mayday: “I dunno. She was too tired to talk.”

 

Mayday: “I’m not even sure I meant it?”

GreggRulz: “It’s no good if you don’t really mean it”

Mayday: “I know.”

GreggRulz: “That’s kind of unfair to Bea.”

Mayday: “I KNOW!”

Mayday: “HEELP MEEEE!!!”

GreggRulz: “Okokok.” 

GreggRulz: “Come by our place tomorrow. We’ll figure this out.”


	35. Chapter 35

Mae was still panicking the next morning. She could barely sleep on account of her fear that she may have ruined the best friendship she’s ever had. Much less entertain the thoughts about what exactly compelled her to ask Bea such a thing. She didn’t know what was scarier, the possibility that she may actually have feelings for Bea, or that it was really nothing.

The former, she thought to herself. Definitely the former.

The diaper Bea had put her in had become uncomfortable overnight. Mae had been wearing it far longer than intended. Feeling anxious and depressed Mae couldn’t muster the energy to get out of it and change into big girl undies. She slipped her pants and buttoned them over her diaper and hoped nobody would notice.

Walking down the stairs, Mae heard the familiar sounds of a certain Candy Borowski in the kitchen. Mae was not feeling up to explaining her current blunder. She took a deep breath nonetheless, and stepped into the kitchen.

“Good morning!” Mrs. Borowski peered over the book she was currently reading. She seemed pleased. 

“Hey mom.” Mae groaned rubbing her droopy eyes with her paws. She hopped a few times trying to get onto the countertop, but quickly gave up and sat at the kitchen table across from her mother.

“Rough night?” Mrs. Borowski asked with some concern. “You usually sleep in longer than this. I can make you a late breakfast if you like.”

“I guess you could say that...” Mae yawned. “And yeah, breakfast would be nice.”

“Did something happen?” Mrs. Borowski inquired. “You seemed just fine last night after dinner.”

“I was talking with Bea last night.” Mae admitted, resigning herself to whatever her mother would have to say. “I think I screwed up.”

“Did you two have a fight?” Mrs. Borowski put her book down with a worried look, giving Mae her full attention.

“No.” Mae looked down. “I said something really stupid.”

“What was it?” Mrs. Borowski asked pointedly, not wanting to beat around the bush.

“I told her that…” Mae winced. “Augh, stupid stupid!” Throwing her hands up in defeat Mae let her head *thump* onto the table.

“Mae, I can’t help you if you don’t tell me.” Her mother prodded. Mrs. Borowski had been here enough times that she had learned to be patient with her daughter.

“IskdBeeifshewusmahgrrfrnf” Mae mumbled into the wooden table.

“You what?” Mrs. Borowski leaned in closer trying to discern what Mae was saying.

“I said…” Mae lifted her head up, face full of embarrassment, “I asked Bea if she was my girlfriend…” 

Saying it out loud didn’t make it any better. In fact, it made it a million times worse. Mae dug her face back down, paws over her head, “So stupid!”

“Well…” Mrs. Borowski took a moment to collect her thoughts. “You’ve had a crush on that girl for a while now. I’d be pretty surprised if she didn’t suspect anything by now. Seeing as you have been seeing eachother so often lately.”

“No I don’t!” Mae protested. “I… I don’t know what I think!”

“Did she say no?” Mrs. Borowski inquired further. “You said you didn’t fight. So it can’t be that bad.”

“She said we’d talk about it.” Mae said despondently. 

“So your good friend Bea, to whom you have confessed feelings that you may or may not have for, has decided that she would like to talk to you about the question you asked her?” Mrs. Borowski let her words hang in the air.

“Yeah…” Mae whined.

“She didn’t say no, then, did she?” Mrs. Borowski asserted, nonchalantly picking her book back up and finding the page she’d left off at.


	36. Chapter 36

Mae wasn’t feeling much better, even after talking about it. The everything omelette her mom whipped up for her after spilling her guts helped, but not much. If she stopped to think about it too much, Mae would swing between feeling like she could pass out or start crying any moment.

Still a terrified about what Bea might say next they meet, Mae still agreed with her mom that it was best to at least wait until she’d actually heard what her best friend had to say. 

For now, she was full of omelety goodness. And what better way to cope with life on a full stomach than with a little cat nap before going to visit her other good friend Gregg, she thought to herself.

Excusing herself from the table, Mae went up to her room; conking out almost as soon as flopped on her bed.

This time she slept much better, falling into instant obliviousness. Yet, waking up several hours later Mae felt even worse, something she did not think was possible. Still, she decided to head out on the town and take up Gregg on his earlier offer. 

Tightrope walking her way across the town’s powerlines, Mae soon found her way to the rooftop of Gregg and Angus’ apartment building. She was unsurprised to find the door to the stairwell unlocked, and made her way down to her friend’s place without much fuss.

Now at Gregg and Angus’ doorstep, Mae suddenly felt a swell of emotions. She felt choked up, as if she could burst into tears any minute. Taking a few deep breaths, Mae pulled herself together and reached out to knock on the door.

After a few quick taps, Mae heard the unmistakable voice of one Gregg Lee cheer, “She’s here!”

The door locks clacked open and soon there was Gregg. “I knew it was you!” 

Gregg excitedly grabbed Mae by the hand and pulled her into the apartment.

“H-Hello to you too!” Mae nearly tripped over herself as she was dragged through the door. 

“Angus just got back from work!” Gregg ushered Mae to their old couch. “He’s making dinner. It won’t be ready for a while, but I told him to make extra just in case you decided to drop by!”

“Aw, you didn’t have to!” Mae sat down onto the couch, suddenly remembering she had yet to get out of her diaper from the night before. Pushing the thought from her mind, she forced a smile. “But Angus *is* a really good cook!”

“Thank you, Mae.” Angus peered his head out of the kitchen momentarily. “But I’m average at best.” His head gone as quickly as it appeared.

“Hi, Angus!” Mae waved towards the kitchen at no one. 

“He’s been pretty busy.” Gregg noted. “We should probably let him work. Let’s move over to our room. I’ve been dying to talk to you!”

Gregg grabbed Mae by the arm, lifting her from the couch and dragged her to his and Angus’ bedroom. Mae wasn’t sure if she should be ok with being yanked around like this, but didn’t want to damped Gregg’s enthusiasm. 

Closing the door behind them Gregg grinned the grin of someone who’d just gotten away with something. Or just thought of something clever. Or something… whatever it was shenanigans were afoot.

“So what was it you wanted to talk about?” Mae was trying to sound interested, knowing how eager Gregg was for her to ask.

Gregg walked over to their dresser and opened one of the lower drawers, stuck a hand and pulled out some adult diapers. “These!”


	37. Chapter 37

Mae picked up her jaw quickly enough to demand, “Is everyone hoarding these things now? Are those mine too?”

“What? No!” Gregg looked confused. “These are mine!”

“Since when?” Mae asked incredulously. 

“Since I found out about you.” Gregg admitted. “I was curious, so I had Angus order me some online. There’s like, entire communities of people into this stuff! Diapers, bottles, pacifiers, the whole shebang!”

“Yeah, I’d looked it up before.” Mae confessed. “How do you think I got all that crud on my computer that Angus had to fix for me?”

“So yeah, I thought you might like to know that you’re not the only one.” Gregg explained handing the diaper to Mae. “You were pretty embarrassed about it. But now you know I just so happen to be as much a weirdo as you!”

“Thanks, but I’ve got plenty at home.” Mae tried handing the diaper back.

“I think you need it.” Gregg gently nudged the diaper back towards Mae. “Like, now.” He chuckled to himself.

“What do you mean?” Mae was confused. She knew she hadn’t wet her diaper. And she sure wasn’t about to do it either. Not in front of Gregg.

“I guess you haven’t noticed…” Greg yanked the back of Mae’s shirt up. Revealing the diaper sticking out from her pants also, she finally noticed what Gregg was talking about. The diaper she’d been wearing all day and slept in several times over had bunched up in the back and had become very obvious.

“How long have I…” Mae stammered.

“I dunno.” Gregg shrugged. “But it was like that from the moment you got here!” 

 

“Thank god I took the high road!” Mae facepalmed, somewhat relieved. Though the embarrassment was still apparent on her face.

 

“C’mon, we’ll get Angus to change you!” Gregg said excitedly. “He’s like, totally into the Daddy thing!”

“What? No!” Mae protested. “I can do it myself!” Stepping back she felt herself bump into something big and wearing a sweater vest.

“Bea says you’re pretty bad at it.” Angus, who had somehow materialized inside the room without Mae realizing it, was standing right behind her. He reached out and gingerly plucked the diaper from Mae’s hands, adjusted his glasses, and gave Mae a soft smile. “Let the grown-ups handle it.”


	38. Chapter 38

Mae wanted to protest, but giving Bea attitude was a much different affair than giving Angus attitude. She was comfortable enough being a wiseass towards Bea. Angus was like a giant teddy bear. Mae couldn’t possibly muster an ounce of animosity to give him any trouble.

“Ok, I guess.” Mae acquiesced, getting redder by the minute. “But Gregg can’t watch. He’s like, my bro. It’d be too weird.”

“Fair enuff.” Gregg shrugged. “I’ll be in the living room.” Making sure to close the door behind him, Mae only now realized how quiet it was.

“Bea tells me you can be very fussy.” Angus started by placing a changing mat on the bedroom floor. “You’re not going to be like that with me, are you?” He reached a hand to Mae, waiting for her to make up her mind.

Mae shook her head ‘no’ and took Angus’ hand. The large bear quickly swept Mae off her feet and gently placed her onto the changing mat. “I see what Gregg meant. That can’t be pleasant.”

Mae covered her face in embarrassment as Angus plucked her shoes off and started undoing her pants. Soon she was yet again in nothing but diapers and a t-shirt. 

Thankfully, Gregg was right. Angus was a natural. He had a very calming presence, and Mae started to relax a little bit as he finally started to undo the days old bunched up diaper. 

Angus stood up and made his way to the closet, where he tossed the crumpled up diaper that Mae had overworn into what appeared to be a large diaper pail. Lying on a changing pad al fresco with nothing but a t-shirt, Mae started feeling self-conscious. Angus sure was taking his time, she thought to herself.

Grabbing some powder from a shelf in the closet Angus knelt back down to finish the job he started.

“Up.” Angus gently coaxed Mae, who simply did as told. Sliding the diaper underneath, Angus applied a generous portion of powder to her nether regions. Wrapping the diaper around her bottom, he taped one side, then the next. He gave one quick look, inspecting his handiwork.

“They’re a bit big on you.” Angus stood up, reaching a hand out to Mae. “But you should be fine if you have any accidents.”

Mae felt herself blush. “I… I’m not gonna…” She muttered before trailing off, feeling a bit overwhelmed.

“Just a precaution.” Angus took Mae by the hand and stood her up. “ So, how about dinner?”


	39. Chapter 39

Mae just stood on the middle of the room, in a diaper and t-shirt, worldess. She was filled with many mixed emotions. Some recent, some she’d been bottling up for a while now. And right now, she was having a difficult time processing any of it. She wanted to talk about so many things. And she didn’t know where to start.

“Mae?” Angus leaned in trying to get Mae’s attention. “Is everything ok?” His face filled with genuine concern.

“Did I do something wrong?” Angus asked kneeling in front of Mae, trying to make eye contact. Mae looked away, though she once again shook her head ‘no’, which relieved Angus somewhat. He would hate himself if he’d ever made Mae uncomfortable.

“Is there anything I can do?” Angus tried to coax an answer from Mae, to no avail. Growing more concerned he stood back up, “Maybe I should get Gregg.”

Mae suddenly clutched Angus’ hand, her claws digging a bit into his wrist. Tears were now streaming down Mae’s face and she could not understand why.

“I don’t have to go.” Angus said softly. “Gregg can wait. I just want to make sure you’re ok.” Angus knelt back near Mae, hoping he could help her get through whatever it was she was going through.

Without a word, Mae wrapped her arms around his neck. Angus could do nothing more than hold her tightly. Before either of them knew it, she was sobbing helplessly in his arms.

“Shh…” Angus lifted Mae and gently rocked side to side. “It’s ok, Mae.” Mae already wrapped her legs around his waist. Her chest heaving with loud open sobs. “Whatever is bothering you, we’ll figure it out. It’s going to be ok.” Angus rubbed the crying kitten’s back trying to soothe her.

“I… I…” Mae was blubbering between deep breaths, trying to pull herself together. “I dun wanna lose Bea!” Breaking down into tears once again; finally admitting what she was most afraid of.

“You haven’t lost Bea.” Angus hugged Mae tightly. “I know for a fact she cares about you *very* much!”

“Bu… bu… I” Mae tried to tell Angus what she’d done, but only sobs and whimpers would come out. 

“I know.” Angus went back to gently rocking her side to side. “Gregg told me. And I’ve talked to Bea. She’s not angry at you. You haven’t done anything to make her want to leave you.”

Mae wanted to believe Angus, but all she could do was cry more. Every time she tried to speak up, she couldn’t find any words to speak of.

“She hades me!” Mae finally managed to blurt out.

“She doesn’t hate you!” Angus rubbed Mae’s back trying to console the poor cat. 

“Yes she does!” Mae said defiantly, tears streaming down her face. 

“No she doesn’t!” A familiar, yet exasperated, voice interrupted.

Angus and Mae turned to see a very frustrated goth crocodile in the doorway.

“Thanks, Angus. I’ll take it from here.”


	40. Chapter 40

“Hand her over.” Bea said in her usual flat demeanor, arms out. “I’ll handle this.” There was an odd determination in her voice.

“Alright.” Angus stepped towards Bea, but Mae refused to budge. “Mae, you need to let go now.” 

Mae dug her face into Angus’ shoulders, shaking her head. She had calmed down a fair bit, but was still afraid of what Bea might have to say.

“Mae, I’m not angry with you.” Bea softened her voice. “But I will be if you keep this up.” 

Bea’s minor scolding was enough to get Mae to let go of her death grip on the bear. Bea grabbed Mae with a bit of an, “Oof!”, and Mae quickly wrapped herself around Bea in much the same manner as she had with Angus. 

“You got her ok?” Angus asked rubbing his shoulders. “She’s got quite a grip. And claws.”

“I have scales.” Bea answered dryly, pulling Mae up a bit. “I’ll be fine.”

“Ok, I’ll be in the living room with Gregg.” Angus looked relieved. “There’s dinner if/when you guys want to eat. Just say the word.”

“Thanks, Angus.” Bea smiled at the bespectacled bear. “We’ll be out in a bit.” Angus gave Bea a nod in acknowledgement and he gently closed the door behind him, leaving the very tired croc and her very distraught friend alone. Bea could feel Mae’s tension. The poor cat was literally shaking.

“You are such a pain in the ass, y’know.” Bea sighed, trying to lighten the mood.

“I’m suh-suh-wreeee!” Mae began bawling once more, digging her face into Bea’s chest. The thought of inconveniencing her best friend, yet again, upset her greatly.

“Oh, boy! I didn’t mean it that way!” Bea instantly regretted her poor choice of words. “I was trying to be funny, I guess? Not the right time… See? I can be just as much of a screw up.” Bea had just gotten here and already she was making things worse, she thought to herself.

“What’s wrong, Mayday?” Bea said in an oddly calm tone. “Why are you so upset? Talk to me.” Bea was already frustrated with everything. But was making a genuine effort to be as patient as possible. She was determined to get Mae to talk to her one way or another. Even if she had to stay with Mae all night having a one-sided conversation.

Bea leaned out a bit, putting Mae’s weight onto her arms, so that she could look at the distraught cat in the eyes. Mae looked away, still very much afraid.

“Mae, look at me.” Bea coaxed gently. “Please.”

Something about the way Bea said ‘Please’ must have worked, because Mae finally turned to look at Bea. Her eyes were still puffy and watery, but she wasn’t openly sobbing anymore.

“You know we need to talk, right?” Bea said as gently as she could, her voice hushed. “It’s important that we do.”

“I… I…” Mae started to visibly panic. “I dunno… if…”

“No. No. It’s ok.” Bea tried to reassure Mae, pulling her close. “I know you’re scared. And unsure.” Bea rubbed Mae’s back and began rocking slowly side to side.

“But that’s why we need to talk.” Bea’s voice was almost a whisper. “Because, whether or not you have feelings for me…” Bea trailed off before taking a deep breath.

“I have feelings for you.”


End file.
